Vol. 539 No. 1
201 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Finance the reason retired personnel in the teaching industry are not in receipt of pro rata pension increases in line with pay increases for existing personnel; and if this could be included as part of the national wage agreement. [18534/01]
I would point out that primary responsibility for teachers' pensions rests with my colleague, the Minister for Education and Science.
I understand from the Minister for Education and Science that the payments referred to in this case are qualification allowances payable to qualified teachers who do not hold degrees, the long service allowance and the restructured scales of principals' and deputy principals' allowance. With effect from 1 July 1994, qualified teachers who do not hold degrees were given the benefit of degree allowances payable to teachers who hold degrees. The long service allowance is payable, on a pilot basis, to teachers with 35 years of service with effect from 1 August 1996. These allowances are only payable to teachers serving on the date on which they were introduced. The restructured scales of the principals' and deputy principals' allowance are payable with effect from 1 September 1996 and increases arising from changes in the system used to determine the appropriate level of the allowance are only payable to teachers who retired after that date.
